Level boarding versus driverless trains

[HSTEd]

I'd propose the Barton on Humber branch. Grimsby to Barton trains connect with the bus service over Humber Bridge to Hull. As soon as that bus service can be run with autonomous busses, like the CAV Forth trials in Edinburgh, then extend the bus route into Grimsby and close the railway, which would no longer serve any useful purpose.

If the line is scheduled for closure then the value of the capital equipment on the line (ETCS etc) would be a dead loss.
That might not help the economics for getting the trial funded.

My personal suggestion would be the St Ives Branch, it would provide opportunities to experiment with unmanned units in multiple with conventional units (to reinforce trains in summer), and the ATO train's ability to simply go without a driver changing ends would be very helpful on the tight turnarounds. Plus the traffic on the line is so heavily seasonal that the winter months would permit a lengthy closure for the installation of trial equipment.

 

[Nottingham59]

If the line is scheduled for closure then the value of the capital equipment on the line (ETCS etc) would be a dead loss.
That might not help the economics for getting the trial funded.

I'm sorry. I didn't explain myself very well. I was trying to point out that once you've got AV busses to provide a public transport service, then you don't need the railway to serve places like Barton on Humber. Unless the railway as a whole embraces Autonomous Vehicle technology to drive down its cost base, then it will be made irrelevant by Autonomous road vehicles.

Except in those places where very large numbers of people need to fit into a small transport corridor, and therefore need a high capacity shared public transport vehicle.

 

[aavm]

A train operated by remote control, like a drone? Then drivers can join the rest of us working from home

 

[Nottingham59]

A train operated by remote control, like a drone? Then drivers can join the rest of us working from home

AV transport needs remote support, but much less than one person person per vehicle. That will drive down the cost base.

It looks like the technology is going to revolutionise public transport over the next twenty years. Whether that revolution is through autonomous taxis, autonomous busses or autonomous trains will depend to some extent on how those industries embrace the trend.

See for instance this video showing the latest capabilities of Waymo's taxi service.

Watch a Waymo Driverless Car Speed Down a Freeway - Video

The company gave CNET an exclusive look at its latest autonomous endeavor.

www.cnet.com